As we discussed here, "The Atlantic came out with a big, juicy exposé of Kash Patel’s unfitness Friday evening. The good news is that according to the article, senior members of the Trump administration “are already discussing who might replace him.”

Now Patel is threatening to sue:

FBI Director Kash Patel is firing back at The Atlantic, threatening to sue after the mag published a bombshell report accusing him of boozing too much and acting paranoid.

Patel announced his intentions Friday night, telling The Atlantic and its journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick he'll see their "entire entourage of false reporting in court."

He then egged them on, adding ... "But do keep at it with the fake news, actual malice standard is now what some would call a legal lay up."

Fitzpatrick made an appearance on MSNow's The Briefing with Jen Psaki and responded to Patel's threats:

PSAKI: I want to talk to you about all the details of this bombshell report. I just skimmed the story, the service there, I should say. But first, I just want to give you an opportunity to respond to this reaction to your piece, because Patel's adviser, Erica Knight, called your piece "fabricated stories." She said that "every serious D.C. reporter passed on it. Sarah Fitzpatrick and Jeffrey Goldberg printed it anyway. Lawsuit is being filed." What do you say to that?

FITZPATRICK: I say that I am a very careful, very diligent, award-winning investigative reporter with a history of award-winning work across multiple organizations. You and I, in fact, have worked together previously.

I stand by every word of this reporting. We have excellent attorneys, and, you know, it is a surprising statement, but a very telling statement, I believe from... and I would also note, we reached out for comment to the White House and to the Justice Department, neither of which disputed anything. We gave multiple opportunities, including 19 detailed questions.

So we stand by every word. And look, this is telling, because there are so many people — you alluded to it earlier. These are not the types of people who are willing to speak out outside of the FBI, especially right now, because Kash Patel is going after people with polygraphs in a way that has never happened at the bureau.

So for it to be this level of alarm, this is people genuinely concerned that America is in danger as a result of this conduct. And I feel a real responsibility to take care of that reporting incredibly carefully. And The Atlantic is nothing but diligent, and we have amazing lawyers and amazing editors, and I stand by every word.

PSAKI: I'm not surprised in any way by their response. I will say, and as you said, you note and I noted nine sources for the opening anecdote of the story as well.

But let's get into some of the details about this, because Patel's excessive drinking seems to be what is alarming a lot of the sources in here. There are multiple anecdotes that refer to that. That's understandable. They're moving meetings. People couldn't wake him.

What more have you heard about the extent of his drinking habits and how it seems to be affecting his ability to serve as FBI director?

FITZPATRICK: I think the key point is that this is happening in places in which it is public. There are lots and lots of people around who are seeing it, who are hearing about it, who are learning about it.

For example, we have video of Patel chugging a beer to excess on video.

PSAKI: We've all seen it. Everybody's seen it.

FITZPATRICK: We've all seen it. And I think it speaks to, you know, he was on official travel at that time. There were ongoing threats in the United States at that time.

So, you know, it is a very, very clear pattern that has occurred in multiple locations over a long period of time. And it's that pattern which has given everyone pause. These are not one-off events.